Police chief quits amid investigation[Houma, LA]

January 31, 2001, Wednesday Metro Edition
Copyright 2001 Capital City Press
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA.)
January 31, 2001, Wednesday Metro Edition
(HOUMA, La) -- Police Chief Orville Callahan has resigned, and the Terrebonne Parish district attorney will turn over the results of a criminal investigation of Callahan to a grand jury in February.

Callahan has maintained his innocence since allegations surfaced earlier this month that he may have misused the office he held for 2 1/2 years.

There was to have been a meeting of local officials Tuesday morning, during which Callahan could have defended himself against charges that he violated Police Department rules, the Parish Code, the Louisiana Code of Ethics and state law. The meeting was canceled after his resignation.

However, Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. also has been looking into the allegations against Callahan.

"The investigation is complete and will be presented to the grand jury in the next few weeks," Waitz said. "I believe it shows there are some serious issues of potential wrongdoing."

The investigation includes a look at the use of government property.

"It looks like there may be some items charged on a business account that may be missing," Waitz said. "The stuff I'm talking about is electrical supplies like wiring, screws, sockets and electrical items that were purchased on a parish purchase order that are now missing."

Lt. Pat Boudreaux, 35, will serve as interim chief until a permanent replacement can be found, parish officials said.